"Very careful scientific analysis was applied to determine where best to target the Storm Shadows to maximise the destruction of the stockpiled chemicals and to minimise any risks of contamination to the surrounding area.

"The facility which was struck is located some distance from any known concentrations of civilian habitation, reducing yet further any such risk," it added.

Gavin Williamson, the Defence Secretary, said in the statement that the strikes were a "legal and proportionate" response to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.

Polls in recent days have shown public wariness of military intervention in Syria, with Britain still haunted by its participation in the US-led invasion of Iraq.

A YouGov poll in The Times conducted this week found that 43 percent of voters opposed strikes in Syria, with 34 percent unsure and only 22 percent supportive.

The Prime Minister had ruled out a parliamentary vote on military action when MPs return from their Easter recess on Monday.

A dozen Tory MPs were openly demanding a Parliamentary vote on military intervention in Syria when MPs return from recess next week including Ken Clarke, the former chancellor.

However the Government believed that military intervention was a decision for ministers under the powers of Royal Prerogative.

Cabinet sources have disclosed that Mrs May began Thursday's meeting by telling ministers that since the end of the First World War 100 years ago the international community has upheld the rule that "chemical weapons are abhorrent and should never be used".

The Prime Minister said that in recent years in Syria there had been "an erosion of that international norm" and it was vital to act "to ensure that that norm is restored". She added that when chemical weapons are used it must not go "unchallenged".